Chapter 51: Inner Court Quotas

Thunderous applause erupted. The entire audience rose to their feet, clapping enthusiastically, filled with admiration.

How to describe this final match? It was an unusual spectacle, with Xu Xiaoshou at its very heart. Everyone found it a bit strange, yet looking at the blood-soaked young man on the field, they also felt that with him there, it was exactly how the match should, and inevitably would, turn out. Still, it had to be admitted, it was truly spectacular!

Xiao Qixiu waved a hand, and medical staff stepped forward to carry Mo Mo, who was in Xu Xiaoshou's arms, away. The four remaining individuals exchanged glances, then fixed their gaze on Xu Xiaoshou. "Do you need treatment?" they asked. Xu Xiaoshou, recognizing the familiar faces, replied cheerfully, "No need!"

He pulled open his top, revealing necrotic flesh that had been burned by the lava but had already healed. He rubbed off a piece and offered it to them. "Since you're already here," he joked, "I don't have anything good to give you, so take this as a souvenir!" The four immediately turned and left, this time not even bothering to check his physical condition. He truly was a monster; it was a shame that such terrifying lava couldn't burn him to death. During the match, they had been the least concerned about him after the lava appeared. They watched the audience's anxious expressions, thinking to themselves that one can only know a person's face, not their heart. If they hadn't checked Xu Xiaoshou's body themselves, they might have been taken in by the emotional display.

Xiao Qixiu raised a hand to quiet the surging applause and smiled. "First, I congratulate Xu Xiaoshou on winning this year's 'Wind and Cloud Championship'," he announced. "To be honest, it was beyond my expectations!" The audience shared an understanding smile, as they all felt the same way. Only Xu Xiaoshou's face darkened, and he silently cursed the middle-aged man in his heart. *Are you implying I'm not supposed to win?* he fumed.

Ignoring him, Xiao Qixiu continued, "In the group stage, I noticed him because he was stirring up trouble; in the breakout round, I noticed him because he escalated that trouble; and in the promotion rounds..." He chuckled. "I simply couldn't *not* notice him anymore; this guy almost drove me crazy." The audience burst into laughter, but Xu Xiaoshou's face turned ashen. *Revenge!* he thought. *So this old man finally found a chance to put me down, huh!*

Xiao Qixiu then changed his tone. "However, without a doubt, Xu Xiaoshou is a huge dark horse!" he declared. "Everyone will encounter a turning point in their lives, whether it's a setback or an opportunity. Whether you can overcome yourself truly depends on your own efforts behind the scenes." The sudden shift in topic made Xu Xiaoshou scratch his head awkwardly. *Efforts?* he mused. *Well, not really. But since you put it that way, I'll definitely work harder to earn passive points in the future.*

Unaware that his words had been twisted by someone, Xiao Qixiu paused in reflection before finally concluding his post-match comments. "I hope that in the next tournament," he said, "someone will still 'make me look at them with new eyes'..." "Now, for the awards!"

He activated a formation token, and a podium with ten positions appeared above the arena. Staff brought the top ten onto the stage. While others who participated in the promotion rounds also received rewards, they couldn't enjoy this moment in the spotlight on the main stage. Xu Xiaoshou looked over and saw many of his subordinates—or rather, familiar old friends! Chao Qingteng, Mu Zixi, Mo Mo... The medical staff had been quite effective; at least Mo Mo had regained consciousness and some mobility.

Xu Xiaoshou grinned as he watched these people walk past him, waving enthusiastically and greeting them. However, he glanced at his information panel, and his mood soured instantly. Chao Qingteng walked past him and said flatly, "Congratulations!" *Cursed, Passive Points +1.* Mu Zixi walked past, clutching her twin pigtails, and snorted, "Hmph!" *Scorned, Passive Points +1.* Mo Mo walked past without even looking at him. *Ignored, Passive Points +1.*

Xu Xiaoshou furrowed his brow in confusion. *Hey!* he thought. *All I did was stab you a few times and knock you out one by one! Is that really reason to be so petty? They're quite vengeful, huh!* Xu Xiaoshou couldn't be bothered to wave anymore. *Every single one of them... so petty, so narrow-minded, destined for mediocrity!*

The staff then distributed rings to each of them. Xu Xiaoshou held his fondly; it was already his second. "I won't list the other rewards; you can see for yourselves," Xiao Qixiu said, then turned to face the audience, raising his voice slightly. "The top ten on the 'Wind and Cloud Rankings' will each receive one opportunity to enter the Spiritual Treasury Pavilion and choose a spiritual skill. The top three will be rewarded with a 'Xiantian Pill'. If not needed, it can be exchanged for a pill of equivalent value!"

The audience erupted in an uproar, their faces filled with envy. The Spiritual Treasury Pavilion was the most important hall in the Tiansang Spiritual Palace, containing numerous spiritual skills, including Post-natal, Xiantian, and even Grandmaster levels. The 'Xiantian Pill' was an eighth-grade pill, capable of increasing the chance of breaking through to the Xiantian realm by thirty percent. This was truly what everyone yearned for! Of course, this year's top three were a bit special, as only Xu Xiaoshou, the champion, could actually make use of this item. The other two were already Xiantian.

Xiao Qixiu also felt a touch of helplessness. The quality of this year's contestants was so high that the 'Xiantian Pill,' which had been unparalleled in previous years, suddenly seemed less impressive. Of course, the option to exchange it for other pills of the same grade was quite humane. Xu Xiaoshou, on the other hand, was delighted. He wasn't like those extraordinarily advanced cultivators. For him, these rewards came at just the right time to be useful. This was true for the 'Xiantian Pill,' and even more so for the opportunity to choose a spiritual skill from the Spiritual Treasury Pavilion. Heaven knows, he had been in the Spiritual Palace for three years, and only at the very beginning did he get a copy of "White Cloud Sword Art" from there, never having the qualifications to enter again afterward.

Thinking of this, Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt incredibly bitter. Unlike other contestants who had a plethora of Xiantian spiritual skills to rotate through, look at Mo Mo; the grade of her spiritual skills might even be beyond Xiantian! And poor him, he could only rely on self-created skills of unknown grade... *Huh? Wait, I still won, didn't I?* A sudden chuckle escaped Xu Xiaoshou. *Not bad at all...*

As the awards ceremony on the stage concluded, the audience's spirits actually lifted. Sure enough, Xiao Qixiu's lips curved into a smile. "Excellent," he announced, "now only the final moment remains: Inner Court Admission!" As these words fell, the audience immediately began buzzing with discussions.

"It's finally here; we've been waiting for this moment!" someone exclaimed. "I wonder how many will be admitted to the Inner Court this year!" "I remember last year it was just Su Qianqian," another replied, "and before that, I think there were several consecutive years with zero admissions!" "Yeah, it just goes to show that the threshold for entering the Inner Court is too high, but the quality of those admitted is truly exceptional." "Indeed," another chimed in, "currently, besides the thirty-three in the Inner Court, the total number of all others probably hasn't even reached a hundred..." "Mhm!" several assented.

Xiao Qixiu took out a piece of paper from his robe and read, "Inner Court Admission Number One: Zhou Tianshen!" Zhou Tianshen, who had been sitting in the audience, rose to his feet with a look of utter disbelief, pointing at himself. "Me?" he blurted. "Are you sure?"